Pictured: 2017 IMMAF gold medalist Benjamin Bennett signs with Brave Combat Federation, photo by Jorden Curran. After winning gold medals in their respective divisions at the 2017 IMMAF World Championships, amateur standouts Benjamin Bennett and Gamzat Magomedov have signed professional deals with Bahrain based promotion, Brave Combat Federation. Last year’s IMMAF World Championships took place in Manama, Bahrain, for the first time. Brave CF announced via press released that Bennett, who won the welterweight division title, has signed with the region’s leading professional MMA organisation. The 23-year-old concludes his amateur career with an 11-fight win streak and an incredible overall amateur record of 30-3, plus success in amateur boxing to boot. At the 2017 IMMAF Worlds, the American secured five victories from 13-18 November, including triumphs over top Swedish welterweight Oskar Biller and impressive Belgian contender Issa Isakov. In the finals, Bennett clinched a split-decision victory over Frenchman Sola Axel. It was revealed that Bennett will be on the card when Brave CF travels to Jakarta, Indonesia, on 11 May. On social media Bennett teased that his professional debut will take place on June 9 in Ireland, however an event is yet to be confirmed. Joining him at Brave CF will be 22-year-old Gamzat Magomedov. Upon gaining Bahrain citizenship, Magomedov entered his first IMMAF World Championships and stormed his way to earning the Men’s Bantamweight crown. Following his opening day victory, the talented wrestler established himself as a top contender when submitting Kazakhstan’s Nurtilek Yerkautuly, a former world silver medalist, in the opening round. Later progressing to the semi-finals, Magomedov halted the momentum of Albania’s Florian Doskja. In the championship final he bested Olzhas Moldagaliyev, who also battled for the Kazakh team which surged to prominence in 2017, although it was the Bahrain representative who secured a unanimous decision win to take the prestigious gold medal.

Magomedov (center, left) takes his place on the 2017 IMMAF World Championships podium Since 2015 Brave Combat Federation has consistently signed IMMAF medalists to professional deals, including Frans Mlambo, Hardeep Rai, Hussain Ayyad and Abdul Hussien. The Kingdom of Bahrain will be hosting the 2018 and 2019 IMMAF World Championships which will again be a part of the Brave International Combat Week.